Toronto: A 21-year-old Indian student was shot dead by an unidentified man at the entrance of a subway station here in Canada. Police said the incident happened when the student was on his way to work. According to police, the deceased student, identified as Karthik Vasudev, was shot at the Glen Road entrance of Sherborne TTC station in St James’s Town on Thursday evening.
The Toronto Police Service said in a statement that after being given first aid on the spot, Vasudev was taken to the hospital, where he died. Toronto Police is investigating the matter. Police said investigators are looking for witnesses who were present in the area at the time of the incident. Along with this, such people are also being searched, for who have made the video of the incident.
The Consulate General of India in Toronto said in a tweet on Thursday, “We are shocked and pained by the unfortunate killing of Karthik Vasudev, an Indian student in the Toronto shooting incident.” “We are in touch with the family and will provide all possible help to hand over the body to the next of kin at the earliest,” the consulate general said.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has also condoled the killing of the Indian student. Jaishankar tweeted, “Extremely saddened by this incident. Condolences to the family.” Jitesh Vasudev, father of the deceased said, “We have lost everything. He was just trying to make his dream come true, coming to Canada was his dream.” He told that Vasudev studied very diligently for the last three years so that he could get admission to Toronto school.
Vasudev’s father said that his son was particularly impressed by the security and opportunities in Canada. He made friends and took a part-time job at a Mexican restaurant two weeks ago. The last time he and his wife spoke to their son was on Thursday afternoon.
“He was a very humble, very sensitive, very loyal child. Everyone, family, friends, and everyone loved him very much. I don’t know what happened but I am trying to find out from the local police, please tell me what happened to my son. He was just going to his work as usual.” Vasudev’s brother told CP24 news channel that he was a student of Seneca College and was on his way to work from the subway when the incident took place. He reached Canada in January.
Seneca College reported that Vasudev had enrolled in a business management course. A college spokesperson issued a statement saying, “The Seneca community is saddened to hear about the death of Kartik Vasudev, a first-semester student of the Business Management course. Our condolences to Vasudev’s family, friends, and classmates. Counseling is being provided to the students and staff.” Police said the suspect in the shooting is a black man about 5.7 feet tall. He was last seen walking south on Glen Road toward Howard Street with a gun in his hand.
